Competitive Snapshot Application Server Choices: Important Considerations in Selecting an Application Server By Clay Ryder The Sageza Group August 2008 The Sageza Group 32108 Alvarado Blvd #354 sageza.com Union City, CA 94587 [email protected] 510·675·0700 Application Server Choices ABSTRACT Few organizations can claim a homogeneous IT environment. For most, the reality is heterogeneous, and the ability of future IT investments to not only coexist, but even thrive in this environment is an important deployment criterion. As is expected with IT products and services, there are several providers of applications servers, including offerings from major systems vendors and ISVs as well as from the open source community. Given the variety of offerings, organizations could face a potentially confusing array of choices in their application server deployment initiatives. In this paper, we examine the role the application server has taken as well as review some of the more notable application server offerings available from commercial and open source providers. We offer our perspective on what are the most important criteria and considerations when selecting an application server and also review how the application server offerings from BEA, Oracle, and IBM in particular meet these criteria. Copyright © 2008 The Sageza Group. All rights reserved. No portion of this document may be reproduced without prior written consent. The information and statistical data contained herein have been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but are not warranted by us. We do not undertake to advise you as to any changes in the data or our views. 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Application Server Choices TABLE OF CONTENTS Application Servers and their Role ......................................................................................... 1 Major Application Server Providers ........................................................................................ 1 BEA WebLogic Server...............................................................................................................................1 IBM WebSphere Application Server..........................................................................................................2 Oracle Application Server..........................................................................................................................2 Other Commercial Offerings......................................................................................................................3 Open Source Offerings..............................................................................................................................3 Important Criteria in Selecting an Application Server............................................................. 3 How Current Application Servers Meet these Criteria............................................................ 4 Web Services and SOA Standards Compliance .......................................................................................4 Common Architectural Model....................................................................................................................4 Table 1: Oracle Application Server Offerings since 1998 .....................................................................................5 Developer Leverage..................................................................................................................................5 Performance..............................................................................................................................................6 Figure 1: Total Java Operations per Second (JOPS) (higher is better) ................................................................6 Figure 2: JOPS per Processor Core (higher is better)..........................................................................................7 Scalability..................................................................................................................................................7 Application Infrastructure Virtualization .....................................................................................................8 Licensing and Support Costs ....................................................................................................................8 Table 2: Platform Price Comparison.....................................................................................................................9 Open Source Alternatives .........................................................................................................................9 What It All Means.................................................................................................................. 10 References ........................................................................................................................... 11 Competitive Snapshot Application Server Choices August 2008 · 1 Application Servers and their Role An application server is a network-based software engine that delivers applications to end users on a variety of client devices. Unlike client/server approaches, the application server executes most of the application business logic, so no client software needs to be installed on the access device. As a result, from a management and operational perspective, the application server environment is more efficient and offers greater flexibility in delivering applications throughout an organization as well as to business partners, suppliers, and customers, among others. This is why application servers are a key building block in creating a Service-Oriented Architecture. Few organizations can claim a homogeneous IT environment. The number of mergers and acquisitions of the past few years clearly drives this, but even for smaller independent operations, the “best of breed” mantra that was so prevalent in the 1990s led to IT solutions from multiple, competitive solution providers. For most organizations, the reality is heterogeneous, and the ability of future IT investments to not only coexist, but even thrive in this environment is an important deployment criterion. Since application servers operate at the middleware layer, adherence to industry standards is essential to achieve maximum interoperability and allow for future growth. To maximize the efficiency and potential reach for applications it is essential to harmonize the architectural underpinnings of the infrastructure as much as possible. Accordingly, organizations can benefit by sharing a common architectural model across their application server environment. As needs scale, a common architecture will permit smooth growth even if the underlying platform is different from the legacy hardware. In addition, the addition of new capabilities such as application edition management, dynamic workload management, and virtualization can more easily be achieved when the application server environment has a consistent architecture. While there are applications servers that are not J2EE focused, such as those supporting Microsoft’s .NET environment, this paper focuses on J2EE-compliant application servers, which are the type most commonly in use. Major Application Server Providers There are several providers of applications servers, including the major systems vendors, ISVs, and the open source community. While most offerings include the basic functions of a J2EE application server, each has its own combination of additional middleware technology provided. Many vendors also provide complementary products and services beyond the core application server. In addition, as the J2EE specification continues to evolve, so the specific level of J2EE compliance offered by each solution varies as each provider works to ensure compatibility with the latest specification. What follows are some of the more notable offerings currently available from commercial and open source providers. BEA WebLogic Server The BEA WebLogic Server (WLS) was released in late 1998 after BEA acquired WebLogic. Since the acquisition of BEA Systems by Oracle, WLS has now been embraced as Oracle’s strategic product and rebranded as Oracle WebLogic Application Server. The server supports Java J2EE 1.5 and EJB 3.0. It also features Web Services and SOA support along with administration, operations, and management capabilities to help reduce operational costs and increase uptime. Oracle has also acquired complementary technologies for management Copyright © 2008 The Sageza Group Competitive Snapshot Application Server Choices August 2008 · 2 and with Coherence from Tangosol and WebLogic Operations Control from BEA. There are four editions of WLS available today: ♦ WebLogic Server Standard Edition is Oracle's entry-level J2EE application server. ♦ WebLogic Server Enterprise Edition includes Standard Edition components plus clustering and management capabilities for organizations with larger scale enterprise applications. ♦ WebLogic Suite targets mission-critical applications with full Java EE, clustering, and management capabilities as well as in-memory